Financial Help for Cancer Patients is Here

Learn about financial help for cancer patients, life insurance loans, borrowing against your life insurance death benefit, viatical settlements, and many other topics. Life Credit Company thrives on being your resource when it comes to financial help for cancer patients.

When an unexpected financial challenge hits, many questions may abound: Should you tap into your savings? How can you access cash without getting into too much debt? Can you borrow from your life insurance? That last question is a complex one, as there are many types of life insurance, and different ways to use your policies. Many people view life insurance as a long-term solution, often just to be passed down to future generations. However, there is the potential for life insurance policies to have cash value that can be of vital assistance in a financial pinch, like those often faced by cancer patients. Before delving into this topic, policyholders need to first determine the type of coverage they have. Whole, or permanent, policies protect the holder for the entirety of his or her life, and accumulate cash value that can be borrowed against. The more you pay into the policy throughout your life, the more cash value it ultimately has. Term insurance, on the other hand, is designed to only function for a set amount of time; unlike whole coverage, term does not accumulate cash value. If the set timeframe expires, the policyholder does not have access to any of the premiums he or she paid throughout its duration. However, there are some exceptions to this structure, such as Life Credit’s Living Benefit Loans. Life Credit pays up to half of a person’s death benefit on his or her life insurance policy, regardless of the type of policy. Even if you are a term policyholder, you can borrow from your life insurance, if it has a value of... read more

Preparing for your financial future involves considering not only the exciting ways you want to spend savings, but also how you might grapple with challenges, such as a medical crisis. Living benefit loans are one option that may arise in your decision-making process, with many financial products, such as annuities, often offering such policy add-ons. Living Benefit Annuity: How it Works An annuity is a collection of investments, which can often be diversified to maximize the returns. As part of the portfolio, an annuitant may be able to opt for a living benefit, meaning he or she can draw cash from the value of the annuity if needed. However, there are a number of factors to consider before doing so. Typically, the policy holder must invest a certain amount in order to guarantee he or she will receive a set living benefit, no matter how the investments perform, which may require a significant amount up front. Additionally, most annuities charge fees for choosing the living benefit feature, which may be paid on a yearly, quarterly or monthly basis, depending on the agreement. Living benefit annuities typically are divided into the initial investment, known as the income base, and the value of your investments, called the account balance. Investors can withdraw the account balance at any time, but will incur hefty fees; the income base, however, can only be drawn upon if it’s converted into incremental amounts to be paid out over the remainder of one’s lifetime. In other words, a living benefit annuity may be a good option for those planning for retirement and those who have a nice... read more

When it comes to life’s most expensive moments — college, a wedding, buying a house — many people turn to loans. Loans can also be used for not-so-happy moments, such as a medical crisis like cancer. With treatments, medications and lifestyle changes like lost wages, cancer financial assistance is vital for many patients, some of whom consider borrowing against a life insurance policy for some quick cash. There are a number of options for life insurance loans, which depend on the patient’s particular policy, as well as the details of his or her prognosis. A Different Approach to Borrowing Against Term Life Insurance Some life insurance companies will allow clients to draw on the cash value of their policy as a form of financial aid for cancer patients. The patient will be responsible for paying the loan back to the company, often at an interest rate of 5-9 percent. However, that option is only available for those with a permanent policy, or one that covers the policy holder for life, while term holders, those whose policies are designed for a set period of time, are ineligible. Even though term holders may have paid a significant amount into their policies, they’re not able to access that money in an emergency. Life Credit Company takes a different approach to life insurance... read more

When it comes to choosing a life insurance policy, there are a dizzying number of options. Prospective policyholders have to consider everything from group vs. individual and term vs. whole, depending on personal circumstances. Additional, customizable options are also available in the form of benefit riders. Insurance benefit riders are, most simply, add-on elements to an insurance policy that can be invoked throughout the duration of the policy, depending ion individual situations. For instance, those in need of finances for cancer patients may be eligible for living benefits, if the policyholder added such a rider to the policy. Most Common Benefit Riders Used For Cancer Treatment Funding Accelerated death: This worst-case scenario option typically is provided in the case of a terminal illness, in which the policyholder is not expected to live more than two years.If eligibility requirements are met, the accelerated death benefit rider usually allows the individual to access cash advances from their death benefit. Though it can provide funding to help a person live out his or her final days comfortably, it will reduce the amount left to beneficiaries’, which is a consideration. Accidental death: Insurance companies often offer the option for an accidental death rider, which provides added money on top of the standard death benefit if the policyholder dies of a non-medical cause. Such riders can be used in the case of a car accident or a slip and fall. Disability income: This add-on allows for monthly payments from the insurance company if the policyholder becomes permanently disabled. Cancer treatment funding could be accessed through this type of rider, depending on the person’s prognosis.... read more

From grants to loans and everything in between, financial options for cancer patients are wide-ranging, and widely needed. As medical bills mount and working hours are restricted, cancer patients and their loved ones often start exploring ways to stabilize what can be shaky financial footing. One option that can be complex, yet valuable, is a life insurance policy. If you’ve begun researching whether you can cash out of term life insurance as a cancer patient, chances are you’ve gotten a number of answers. There isn’t a simple response, though there are a number of conditions, as well as many factors to consider. First, it’s important to understand the difference between the leading types of life insurance, term and permanent. Term: This policy protects the holder for a set number of years, such as 10 or 20. The individual pays premiums during that time and, should anything happen to him or her in that timespan, the policy holder’s beneficiaries would receive an agreed-upon benefit. However, if the person lives past that expiration date, the coverage stops and the holder receives no benefit. Permanent: As the name suggests, this policy covers a person throughout his or her entire life, and pays out a lump-sum benefit upon his or her death. It often requires a larger investment than a term policy but comes with the guarantee of a payout. With financial toxicity a serious threat of cancer, there is a real need for financial assistance for cancer patients. A number of options exist for those who are considering tapping into term life insurance policies. There are Financial Options for Cancer Patients Some... read more

Many Americans are familiar with the concept of a death benefit, or the amount paid out from your life insurance policy after your passing. However, fewer people are as aware of the idea of a living benefit, which can be just as crucial to a family during a loved one’s final days. Living Benefits on Life Insurance Defined A living benefit is a portion of a person’s death benefit from their life insurance company, typically granted to an individual when he or she is facing a terminal prognosis. Living benefit programs vary depending on the provider but most require the insured to provide proof of an illness that is expected to claim his or her life within 24 months. If the applicant is approved, living benefits typically range from a quarter to 100 percent of what the policy’s death benefit amounts to and can be used for whatever the policyholder needs. The individual may choose to use the funds for medical care, or to plan ahead for funeral or other end-of-life expenses. Planning for the Future The prospect of a terminal illness is a frightening one that many people don’t want to seriously consider when making plans for their future. Because of that fear, some may miss out on the opportunity to add a living benefit rider to their life-insurance policy, and many companies won’t approve such additions, even in an emergency situation. Closing that gap is a goal of Life Credit Company’s living benefit loans. Such loans allow applicants to receive a portion of their insurance policy’s death benefit while still living. Since the program does not require... read more